[사설]I’m afraid of the drifting 2-4 countermeasures, the price of apartments will fluctuate.

The rise in apartment prices has stopped. According to a survey by the Korea Real Estate Agency, the weekly increase in apartment prices in Seoul was 0.1% in the first week of February, the highest this year. However, after the sixth consecutive week, the increase declined to 0.06% in the third week of this month. KB Real Estate’s Buying Advantage Index also fell below 100 for the first time this year to 96.2 in the first week of this month, and has continued a sharp decline for the third week. The buying advantage index is a numerical measure of the market’s buying sentiment. If it exceeds 100, it means that there are many buyers, and if it is less than 100, it means the opposite. There are also complexes in the Gangnam area of ​​Seoul, where the actual transaction price has fallen by more than 10%.

The appreciation of apartment prices is the result of a combination of rising market interest rates, soaring public prices, and 2·4 housing supply measures. This year, as financial authorities strengthened the management of household loans, commercial banks began raising interest rates on mortgage loans. As the public housing price of apartment houses rose 19% year-on-year this year, concerns about an increase in the tax burden were also a factor that weakened buying sentiment. However, above all, it is worth noting that the time when the rise in apartment prices began to decrease coincides with the time of the announcement of the second and fourth measures.

The Moon Jae-in administration has poured out a number of real estate measures so far, but it has not been able to prevent a surge in house prices. It is pointed out as a factor of failure that it is only urgent to suppress demand. So, it changed its strategy to focus on supply and started a massive volume operation to supply 850,000 households across the country. Fortunately, after the announcement of the 2nd and 4th measures, the surge in house prices has remarkably subsided. However, the dominant view is that it is impossible to conclude that it has entered a full-fledged downturn. This is because, when countermeasures come out, the surge in house prices has been stagnating for a while and then recurred, not once or twice in the past.

It is true that expectations are high in that the second and fourth measures are policies that conform to market principles. Unfortunately, however, the driving force was lost as he was caught in the’LH Incident’. The government and the ruling party initially said they would deal with the related bill in March. However, the National Assembly’s National Assembly, the National Assembly, and the National Transportation Commission, which is a standing committee under jurisdiction, have not even proposed these bills. At the same time, I am worried that apartment prices will rise again. I hope the National Assembly hurry to follow up legislation. Even for stabilization of the housing market, the 2nd and 4th measures should be saved.